Denver Nuggets: Mike Malone for NBA Coach of the Year

Coach Malone is well deserving of NBA Coach of the Year

Denver Nuggets coach Mike Malone has been named a finalist for Coach of the Year.

Coach Malone has been nominated for NBA Coach of the Year along with Milwaukee Bucks’ Mike Budenholzer and the Los Angeles Clippers’ Doc Rivers.  This is a very close race as all three coaches are very deserving of the award. This maybe the closest Coach of the Year race ever.

Mike Malone’s accomplishments this season with the Nuggets have been very impressive. The growth of the Nuggets this season is unparalleled to compared to other teams in the NBA.

Compared with Coach Mike Budenholzer, Coach Malone had fewer talented players on his bench.  Having the second best record in the Western Conference is a major accomplishment for any team. The Wester Conference is far tougher than the Eastern Conference. If the Nuggets had been in the Eastern Conference, they could have very likely been the number one seed.

The Nuggets have made greater improvements from last season compared to the BucksBucks. The Bucks were the 7th seed last year and were a playoff team. In the playoffs, the Bucks took the Celtics to 7 games in the first round. The Boston Celtics ended up making it to the Eastern Conference Finals and pushed the Cavaliers to a game 7.

The Nuggets last season did not even make the playoffs. Until the 2018-19 season, the Nuggets had not made the playoffs in 6 seasons. And they made it to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time in a decade.

The Nuggets also won 8 more regular season games this season compared to last season.

Compared to last season, the Nuggets have improved more defensively than any other NBA team. This season, the Nuggets were a top 10 defensive team during the regular season. When it comes to guarding the three-point line, no team has seen the growth the Nuggets have exhibited this season.The Nuggets were the worst team in the NBA at defending the three- point line last season and now they are the best team at defending the three point line.

The growth of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray has been surreal as well. Jokic was selected 42nd in the 2014 draft. He has developed his game beyond just the center position and now leads the Nuggets in APG. He was selected as an All-Star this season. The last season the Nugget had an All-Star was in 2010-11.

The Nugget fans are definitely behind Coach Malone. He is well deserving of NBA Coach of the Year.